#000061
How Things Work, Vol. I
C. van Amerongen (trans.)
How Things Work: The Universal Encyclopedia of Machines is the English-language version of the German reference classic Wie funktioniert das?, assembled by the Bibliographisches Institut and translated by C. van Amerongen. This is Volume I of the multi-volume set. The whole work explains, in hundreds of meticulous two-color diagrams paired with plain text, how machines and technologies actually function—from the ballpoint pen to the jet engine, the camera to radar. Its distinctive method is the double-page spread: a clear drawing on one side, an explanation on the other, organized around underlying physical principles rather than product categories. Mid-century in origin, it remains one of the most satisfying browse-anywhere references ever made for the mechanically curious. For readers who like to understand the workings of the built world—students, tinkerers, and the endlessly inquisitive—it's a small monument to the pleasure of knowing how.
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The editors
The work originated with the technical editorial team of the Bibliographisches Institut in Mannheim, which published it in German in 1963 as Wie funktioniert das?. The English adaptation was translated and edited by C. van Amerongen, an engineer who rendered its technical German into clear, readable English.
The book
How Things Work: The Universal Encyclopedia of Machines explains the theory and practice of modern machines and methods across hundreds of entries, from household gadgets to heavy industry. Its signature is the two-color diagram: more than a thousand annotated drawings, each facing a page of explanation, organized by scientific principle rather than product category. This set gathers the material across four volumes.
How it has aged
Some of the technology—analog electronics, film cameras, early data processing—now belongs to history, which is part of the charm. But the physical principles it teaches don't date, and few later references match its clarity of illustration. A period piece that still explains beautifully.
For more context
Compare the closely related The Way Things Work editions and David Macaulay's later illustrated classic of the same name.
Sources
- Type
- Book
- Author / Maker
- C. van Amerongen (trans.)
- ISBN
- None
- Format
- Hardcover
- Shelf
- Reference
- Location
- Maine
Part of 4-vol set